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Month: June 2010

No harm in treating people with respect

Published by Ellen on June 8, 2010

Aquino: Bangit not my AFP chief;Versoza to stay head of the PNP

AFP Chief Delfin Bangit does not know me. I have never talked with him. I have never interviewed him.

I have cursed him many times when we were covering the court martial hearings in Camp Capinpin in Tanay of military officers accused of mutiny in connection with an alleged plan to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo in February 2006 for making it hard to hace access to the accused officers.

We would loudly complain every time we were pushed back from the path of the accused, among them Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, and Col. Ariel Querubin because we wanted to interview them (which Gen. Bangit didn’t allow) and take close up photos of them.

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Ang kumisyon na mag-imbestiga kay Arroyo

Published by Ellen on June 7, 2010

Mukhang may problema pala para isapag-katuparan ang pangako ng nanalong kandidato sa pagka-presidente na si Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III tungkol sa kumisyon na kanyang itatatag para imbestigahan si Gloria Arroyo.

Pinalakpakan pa naman natin ang magaling na ideya na ito ni Aquino at isa ito sa mga rason na binoto siya ng taumbayan. Siya lang sa mga kandidato ang nagsabing papanagutin niya si Arroyo ng kanyang mga kasalanan sa taumbayan.

Sinabi ni Atty. Harry Roque, isa sa mga abogadong masugid sa pag-imbestiga ng mga anomalya na sangkot si Gloria Arroyo at ang kanyang asawang si Mike, na kung sa pamamagitan lamang ng executive order ang pagtatag ng kumisyon na magi-imbestiga kay Arroyo, hanggang rekomendasyun lang ito.

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Bangit: I’d rather be fired than quit

Published by Ellen on June 7, 2010

Aquino says he has picked replacement

by Victor Reyes and Wendell Vigilia

Armed Forces chief Gen. Delfin Bangit yesterday censured the camp of incoming president Benigno Aquino III for telling him to resign after he and 301 other senior officers were bypassed by the Commission on Appointments.

In a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo, Bangit told the incoming administration to treat the military “with honor and give us the dignity that we deserve,” and said the resignation call is an attempt to destroy the Armed Forces.

Incoming president Benigno Aquino III said he will not strike a compromise with Bangit because he already has a replacement in mind.

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Only scoundrels are afraid of an informed citizenry

Published by Ellen on June 6, 2010

Information is power.

Only an informed citizenry can give true meaning to the definition of democracy, which is a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Our Constitution recognizes this. That’s why it is enshrined in the Bill of Rights that “The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized.

“Access to official records, and to documents, and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.”

The Freedom of Information bill, which Arroyo-administration dominated House of Representatives refused to pass, gives flesh to this Constitutional provision.

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CenterLaw’s Bagares wins fellowship to France

Published by Ellen on June 6, 2010

Romel in Paris
Romel in Paris
Before Romel Bagares became a lawyer, he was a journalist, covering “Defense” for the Philippine Star.

As a lawyer, he was in the forefront in giving support to the families of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre, a number of them his friends.

At the CenterLaw, where he is the executive director, he handles the media cases like our suit against Mike Arroyo. Also our suit against police and defense officials in the 2007 Manila Peninsula standoff.

He also successfully defended Lt. Artemio Raymundo in the court martial over the latter’s sharing of DVDs on the lifestory of former President Joseph Estrada.

We congratulate Romel for his fellowship from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of France under its “Programme d’invitation des personnalités d’avenir” ( Invitation Program for Personalities of the Future) .

The program, run by the ministry’s Policy Planning Staff (Centre d’analyse et de prévision), selects young prominent personalities ranging from 25 to 40 years of age from all over the world who have spent little or no time in France, but who have a growing influence on their country’s affairs or on their country’s relations with France. With the award, the CenterLaw Executive Director joins the circle of about 220 personalities from Asia and Oceania who had already been granted the fellowship.

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Wilson Flores interviews Romy Neri

Published by Ellen on June 6, 2010

By Wilson Lee Flores
The Philippine Star

Neri bids goodbyeSSS president Romulo Neri recently made news headlines again along with former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos, with both pinned twice by the Ombudsman for a graft case, while President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo were cleared by the same Ombudsman of alleged wrongdoing in the controversial and allegedly overpriced US$329.48 million National Broadband Network (NBN) project with ZTE.

As former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief, Neri was in 2007 invited by the Senate to testify on the alleged NBN anomalies where he revealed that ZTE broker Abalos had offered him a P200 million bribe at Wack Wack Golf & Country Club for him to approve the NBN project. Neri narrated that he informed GMA about this bribery attempt and that she instructed him not to accept the bribe. However, when the Senate probed further on whether GMA herself had followed up the project, directed him to prioritize or approve it, Neri refused to answer the Senate, invoking “executive privilege.” The Supreme Court in 2008 affirmed Neri’s right as a cabinet official to invoke “executive privilege.” Neri has since declined to discuss at length this controversy with the media, but this writer recently convinced him to grant The Philippine STAR an exclusive no-holds-barred interview. Here are excerpts:

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Gustong i- appoint ni Noynoy si Dingdong at Ogie

Published by Ellen on June 5, 2010

Update: Kris Aquino urges Abunda to accept position of Tourism secretary; admits it was her idea

Ano ba naman ito.

Ayun sa report ng GMA News TV, gusto raw ni Noynoy Aquino, ang nanalo sa pagka-pangulo ng Pilipinas sa nakaraaang eleksyun , iniisip raw niya bigyan ng pwesto sa gobyerno ang mga Kapuso stars na si Dingdong Dantes at Ogie Alcasid.

Dingdong Dantes
Dingdong Dantes
Lumabas ito ng tinanong siya kung sino pa sa mga taga showbiz ang iniisip niyang i-appoint sa pamahalaan maliban kay TV host na si Boy Abunda ng ABS-CBN, ang sagot ni Aquino, “Si Dingdong, si Ogie…siguro dun sa mga advocacy nila gaya sa youth.”

Hindi pa raw niya nakaka-usap ang dalawa na tumulong sa kanya noong kampanya. Ngunit ang pag-suporta sa kanya raw ay hindi lamang ang basehan ng kanyang desisyon na kukunin sila para manglingkod sa gobyerno.

“Matagal din naman natin silang nakasama sa kampanya, nalaman natin ang mga advocacy nila, ano yung mga tinutulungan nilang sector, sayang naman kung hindi magtutuloy-tuloy,” paliwanag ni Aquino.

Dagdag pa niya: “Kung papayag sila (Dingdong at Ogie) bakit hindi. Si Dingdong alam ko may youth foundationsi Ogie ganun din yata plus yung OPM (organisasyon ng mang-aawit).”

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Betrayal in the House

Published by Ellen on June 4, 2010

No quorum kills freedom of info bill

by Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The House of Representatives accomplished nothing on its last session day Friday, but claims of deceit, threats of arrest and declarations of outrage flew fast and furious.

Declared seven short of a quorum, the House adjourned without ratifying the freedom of information (FOI) bill—a landmark piece of legislation that would have lifted the shroud of secrecy over government transactions and data.

Ratification was to have been the last step before the nine-year-old bill is submitted to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her signature.

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